Companions, Assemble Calling: The Doctor
by consultingdoctorpotter
Summary: Jack, Martha and Mickey need the Avenger's help to contact the Doctor, but the Doctor and Natasha Romanoff have met before. So have Steve and Bucky and Jack. Takes place right after "Journey's End" and no particular time in MCU, but after AOU, and Bucky isn't in the ice. Jack spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

A black SUV pulled up outside of a tall, glass skyscraper. A handsome man wearing a blue trench coat and suspenders marched out of the drivers seat door. A darker skinned woman hopped out of shotgun, and another man came out of the back. The woman held a large gun unlike any model seen on Earth, the blue trench coat clearly hid other things inside, and the other man held a crude metal stick with an unlit blue light at the end. He held it gingerly, as if it might explode.

"Okay, perception filter cuffs on." Said the man in the trench coat. The other two clipped large cuffs onto their wrists.

"You have the hand, right, Jack?" The woman asked.

"Oh right!" The man in the coat grinned, "kinda need that. Thanks Martha. Okay, Mickey Mouse, our sonic screwdriver's up and working, right?" Jack reached into the backseat and pulled out what appeared to be a human hand floating, ghost like, in a tank.

"Never getting rid of that name, am I?" The other man said with a smile. He pressed a button on the stick. It let out a high pitched noise and the blue light lit up. He pointed it at the car door and it popped open.

"Yeah, sonic's working."

"Great," Jack said, "Now we're good to go."

"So-how exactly do we go about this?" Martha asked.

"We knock." Jack banged on the door loudly four times. They waited several minutes. Jack knocked again. No answer.

"Well, since they obviously don't know who we are and don't want to let us in, we'll have to do this the hard way." Jack sighed.

"Mickey, get the harpoon and grab Martha, we're going to the top. Mickey put his arm around Martha's waist and shot a harpoon that had been in his jacket to the top of the building. Jack shot a withering look at the camera next to the door before doing the same. They shot up to the top, Jack's coat billowing in the wind.

Once they had all safely arrived at the top next to the decorative "A", Jack knocked on the glass and looked into the lab.

"Bulletproof," He said. "Well, good thing we have something for that." He glanced at Mickey.

"Right. I'm not actually entirely sure about the settings for glass-"

"Just do it, Mickey," Martha said quickly, "Before they notice."

Mickey pressed the button again and held it close to the glass. A crack appeared and then spread in a starburst till it covered the whole panel. Mickey bit his lip, his arm trembled slightly.

"Now see, this is the part I'm not sure-" Mickey was interrupted by the panel exploding, showering splinters of glass all around them.

"Okay well-" Jack spit glass out of his mouth, "-it worked."

"Yeah!" Mickey seemed to have discovered new found enthusiasm.

They stepped through the window onto the broken glass that crunched beneath their boots.

* * *

"We have a breach!" Steve shouted above the blare of the alarms.

"Where?" Natasha shouted back.

"Um, guys?" Bucky said nervously, "it's in the lab."

"The one day it's just the three of us!" Nat grumbled as they sprinted up the stairs.

"Tell me again why we didn't take the elevator?" Bucky growled.

"They could've blocked it already, or they could trap us in there." Steve answered, buckling his helmet.

They burst into the lab, ready to fight, and stopped. It wasn't burning, nothing seemed to be broken. No one was there. Except for one handsome man in a blue trench coat.

* * *

Jack looked at the three and assessed them. Not the girl, she looked too dangerous. Metal arm guy looked angry. Maybe Mr. Stars and Stripes?

"Interesting stuff you've got here." Jack said, picking up what looked like a vortex manipulator. The three tensed up. Nat trained her gun on him and Steve prepared to throw his shield. Interesting. What do I really have here? Jack thought. He blinked and kept his eyes closed for a fraction of a second longer. Remember what the Doctor always does. Jack told himself. Act cool and calm and unafraid. And smart. Always show off knowledge. Never fails. In the corner of his eye he saw Martha and Mickey. Martha gave him a reassuring nod and Mickey gave him a thumbs up.

"Vortex manipulator?" He asked.

"Don't play dumb." Metal Arm guy growled.

Jack started to put it on his wrist that didn't have his that didn't have his own vortex manipulator on it. He paused.

"Wait!" He laughed loudly, "Excuse my manners! Captain Jack Harkness, and who-" he pulled the rest of the cuff onto his wrist, but he didn't get any further because a round shield of vibranium hit him in the head. He fell to the floor with a thump. He dimly heard Martha gasp and he saw Mickey ready the sonic screwdriver. He looked up just in time to see the shield return to Captain America's hand.

"A fellow captain," Steve noted, "nice."

"Okay," Jack wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth as he got up. "Now I'm pissed. We come all the way from London, I'm being nice, and you hit me with a frisbee."

Nat snickered. Thank God, Jack thought in relief. At least someone's got a sense of humor.

"London?" Steve looked interested.

"Who's 'we'?" Bucky asked. Jack ignored him.

"Seriously," Jack said, "did we do something to-" he took a step towards Captain America, "-piss you off?" Jack drew a gun out from inside his coat.

"You think a gun scares me?" Captain America scoffed.

"Not this one," Jack put the gun back in his coat. "But you would be stupid not to be scared of that one." He pointed at Martha, who deactivated her perception filter.

"That gun would be incredibly useful for you," Jack said.

"It can blast through a Dalek's shield." Martha said.

"Wait, where did she come from?" Nat asked indignantly.

"What's a Dalek?" Steve asked.

Jack cleared his throat. "Perception filter. Unless you know it's there, which I did, you don't notice it. You see it, but your brain doesn't register it. You can hide in plain sight. Cool, right? Didn't see him either, did you?" Mickey appeared.

"What is that?" Bucky asked, pointing at the sonic screwdriver.

"A useful tool that broke your window." Mickey answered.

"Yeah, don't diss the sonic." Jack said. "So we came here because we-aghh, this is hard-need, um, your… anyone else wanna finish?"

"Help. We need your help." Martha finished.

"Exactly!" Jack exclaimed, "We, Torchwood and UNIT, need your help."

The three Avengers exchanged a look.

"Help with what exactly?" Steve asked.

Suddenly, an old memory surfaced from deep inside Jack. His eyes widened, and he stumbled backward a step.

Through the haze, he heard Martha ask, "Jack, are you alright?"

He shook his head.

"You two-" He waved at Steve and Bucky. Unfortunately, what Jack had picked up from the table was not a vortex manipulator, it was one of Iron Man's gloves. So when he waved, it shot at Bucky. It harmlessly glanced off his metal arm, but it startled everyone, including Nat. She pulled the trigger and sent a bullet straight into Jack's forehead.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm posting two chapters just to get started, after this it will be one chapter a week.

* * *

 _Jack walked into the bar, glancing at the anti Hitler posters hung in the windows. It was his last day before he went to London. He better enjoy it. He liked the new title "Captain Jack Harkness." He was looking forward to his favorite drink. Well, second favorite. His favorite drink didn't exist yet, as it was 1941. He sat down at the bar next to two other soldiers. He might as well introduce himself. The bartender looked busy seducing a sailor._

" _Hello. Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?" He grinned at the two soldiers._ Ooh that sounded good. I should use that more often _, He thought to himself._

" _Steve Rogers," The blond one replied, "This is Bucky Barnes."_

 _Bucky smiled._

" _Nice to meet you," Jack flashed his irresistible grin. "You're both in the army, right?"_

" _Yep," Bucky said. "Steve just got in a few weeks ago." Steve nodded._

" _Wow, looking good for a few weeks." Jack patted Steve's impressive biceps._

" _He used to be small and skinny, but they gave him a serum." Bucky leaned over Steve to tell Jack._

" _Nice," Jack said, "I guess I'll be giving a drink to a super soldier and his significant other."_

" _Oh no," Steve said quickly._

" _Nothing like that." Bucky shook his head._

" _Okay, a super soldier and his_ friend _." Jack emphasized the word. He winked. Jack knew an undercover couple when he saw one._

" _No, seriously," Steve said, "Bucky has a girl."_

" _Yeah but it's not serious." Bucky said._

" _Mm. Okay." Jack said, still not believing them. Well, if they didn't want to admit they were a couple, they were game._

" _Bartender!" Jack shouted. He came over. "Sorry to interrupt your fun, but me and my two friends want drinks." He looked at Steve and Bucky, "What do you guys want?"_

" _Just a whiskey." Steve said._

" _Same for me," Said Bucky._

" _Okay, two whiskeys and a martini." Jack said._

 _The bartender nodded and left._

" _So where are you stationed?" Steve asked Jack._

" _I just got promoted to Captain, so I'm leaving for London tomorrow."_

" _That's too bad," Bucky said._

" _Well we've got tonight," Jack said with a grin._

 _Several drinks later, the three were laughing over Steve becoming a poster boy._

" _You-you know," Jack said between laughs, "I was a poster boy, too."_

" _You'd be really good at it," Steve told him._

" _Or I will be a poster boy." Jack's face suddenly showed confusion. "One or the other."_

" _Whatdoyoumean?" Bucky asked, his speech slurred._

" _It's-timey wimey." Jack said._

 _Steve laughed, he looked perfectly sober, which confused Jack._

" _They called me-or will call me-the Face of Boe. What a weird name, huh?"_

 _The other two laughed._

" _Well, I better go home now." Jack said, "It was a great night."_

 _Steve and Bucky nodded._

" _But I need your help," Jack said._

" _With what exactly?" Steve asked._

" _Paying."_

 _Steve's mouth dropped open. "What?!"_

 _Bucky wasn't listening. Jack laughed loudly._

" _I'm just joking." He handed money to the bartender and got up from the bar. "I hope I'll see you guys around."_

" _So do I Captain Jack Harkness." Steve shook his hand. Jack shook Bucky's hand too. Jack walked out of the bar with a grin plastered on his face._

 _The next morning, Bucky didn't remember much, and Steve was too caught up in everything to remember the timey wimey things Jack had said._

 _And as for Jack, he forgot all about that night because his next few weeks were filled with Roses and Doctors._


	3. Chapter 3

Here's the next chapter. Please review and let me know if there are any plot holes or mistakes. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Nat cried out and dropped the gun. Mickey and Martha looked at each other.

"He won't be happy." Martha sighed.

"At least we won the bet." Mickey grinned.

"What are you talking about?" Steve said, "Your friend's dead!"

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." Nat said.

"It's okay. Three." Martha said.

"Two." Mickey added on.

"One." The bullet hole in Jack's forehead closed. The three Avengers stumbled backwards.

Jack's blue eyes shot open as he sat up and yelled. "AAAAAAGHHHH-blehaleghyechhh." He spit onto the floor. "Why does dying have to taste so bad?" He sighed, "Never mind. Not that any of you would know."

"Hand over the money, Jack." Mickey said.

"He thought he could go through this whole mission without dying. Mickey and I disagreed." Martha explained.

"So… this has happened before?" Natasha asked.

"No it happens often." Jack got up. "Actually, it'll be great to have someone trigger-happy on our side. Hopefully."

"The Doctor doesn't like weapons, neither do I." Martha said.

"Yeah, well I'm not the Doctor." Jack combed his hair with his fingers. He carefully took Iron Man's glove off his hand and walked over to the couch. "May I?"

Steve nodded. Jack sat down heavily and put his head in his hands. Martha put down the gun and sat down next to Jack. Mickey pocketed the sonic screwdriver and sat down beside Martha.

"Okay, explain," Nat said.

"Yeah, what are Daleks, who's the Doctor, who are you, what is Torchwood?" Steve said.

Jack sighed. His handsome face showed signs of fatigue.

"Okay, I'm a time traveler. I have a vortex manipulator, which allows me to travel through time and space." He showed them the band on his arm. "It's no TARDIS, but it's enough."

The three Avengers tensed up at the mention of time travel.

Jack noticed. "You all have histories, huh?"

Natasha's lips tightened, and Steve and Bucky exchanged a look.

"The Doctor is an alien, he travels through time and space. We need to find him. We've got some equipment we need him to check out. It might be Time Lord, but since they all… died out, we don't know anything. Torchwood is an organization that investigates all things alien on Earth. I'm the head of it. This is Martha, she traveled with the Doctor for a while, so did Mickey. So did I. I died, then um, I was brought back. Permanently. I can't die. Martha's seen what I become, but she won't tell me. She tells me it's good. Daleks are… evil."

"All of time?" Natasha asked.

Jack nodded. "All of space." He held her gaze for a second longer. "Mickey, get the hand."

While Mickey walked over to where Jack had been before, Jack talked some more.

"I was in 1941 for a while. That's where I got my title. I also met Steve and Bucky."

Nat bit her lip to hide her laughter.

Steve's eyes widened. "Oh no. Really?"

"I remember… you bought us drinks." Bucky said, looking somewhere none of them could see.

"Yes, really." Jack said. "We really don't need that much. We just need your tech and your tower."

"Oh yeah, nothing at all." Nat said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Please?" Jack said, looking up at them, "Then we'll be out of your hair. Forever."

"How long will it take?" Steve asked.

"A day at most." Mickey said. "We've got this." He held up the sonic screwdriver.

"What is that?" Steve looked closer.

"Sonic screwdriver." Jack said proudly, "It used to be the Doctor's, but we found it broken in Leadworth, England. He'll have a new one by now, but we managed to fix it."

A flicker of recognition passed through Natasha's face, but no one noticed.

"Okay," Steve said. "One day."

Natasha took a breath, "Steve, maybe we should give them more time," Jack looked up at her. "I mean, we don't want them to be rushed."

"Fine, take as long as you need." Steve said. Mickey dropped the hand on the floor.

Bucky nodded.

"Great!" Jack rubbed his hands together. "Let's get the stuff from the car."


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy!

* * *

Jack was bent over the hand in the tank, attaching wires and tubes to it. He was bent over the tank the same way he had been for the past three hours. Martha and Mickey were bent over computers. Natasha was leaning against the windowsill, watching. Jack pushed his hair back from his face and sighed. He sat down and rubbed his neck. He reached out his fingers and gently touched the tank.

"Please, Doctor," He whispered, "This has to work."

"I've learned that hoping doesn't usually work. You have to do something about it." Jack looked up and saw Nat standing next to him.

"Natasha Romanoff, right?" He asked.

Nat nodded. "Can I help?"

Jack rubbed his eyes. "Yes, actually. Mickey! Sonic!" Mickey tossed him the screwdriver and Jack caught it. "Could you hold these two wires together?" Nat kneeled down and did as he asked. Jack held the sonic screwdriver to the spot where the wires met. The wires sparked and sizzled, and Nat pulled away.

"Will the Doctor come here?" Nat asked.

"If it works, yeah."

"I think-I think I've seen him." Nat said uncertainly.

Jack looked up, interested. "What did he look like?"

"He had… short, wild hair, a blue suit with a brown trench coat. He had that screwdriver, but newer."

"Sounds like him," Jack said. "Where did you see him?"

"It was at my ballet… school."

"He could go to a ballet school, but not to my awesome parties." Jack frowned.

Natasha glared at him.

"Sorry," Jack said humbly.

"I was just out of, um, sterilization, when I turned a corner and there he was. He was pointing the screwdriver at the alarms system. He looked at me, and put on a pair of glasses."

"Were they 3D glasses?" Jack asked.

Nat looked bewildered. "No, just regular."

"Okay, go on."

She continued. "He seemed to know who I was, and that I wouldn't hurt him. He grinned, said 'Allons-y!' and activated the screwdriver. The alarm sounded and we had to evacuate. Someone bumped into me and when I looked back, he was gone."

"That's the Doctor all right." Jack confirmed.

"I need to know why he was there that day. And why he did that." Natasha locked eyes with Jack. "You understand why, right?"

"Of course I do." Jack looked sad. "The Time Agents stole two years of my memories. Of course I understand why."

Natasha nodded. "So, the hand?"

"The Doctor is an alien, and when he's on the verge of death, he regenerates into a new person. In the first few hours of his tenth regeneration, his hand got cut off on a spaceship. Long story short, I found the hand, and he grew a new one. With the regeneration energy from the hand, I can hopefully send a signal to the TARDIS by linking it to the same regeneration energy. Then I can send a message and coordinates."

Nat nodded.

"Jack?" Martha called, "It's ready."

"Okay, everyone out." Jack said. Martha and Mickey left.

"Good luck," Martha called.

"I'm staying." Nat said.

"Did the others set you up to this?" Jack asked.

"No, they don't even know I'm here."

"I have to be the only one. There's a slight chance this whole thing might explode, and I can't die." Jack explained.

"How slight?"

Jack cleared his throat, "Maybe an 85 percent chance?"

"You didn't tell us that."

"Hopefully we did it well enough that it won't."

"Still staying."

"Fine. Hold this, point it at the hand and press it when I tell you to." Jack tossed her the sonic screwdriver.

Jack ran around the room, typing and connecting wires. Sparks flew into his face more than once so that his hair was singed and his face grew dark with soot. Natasha stood with her arms crossed and watched him. He seemed frantic, growing more tense by the minute, his jaw tightening, his eyes growing smaller. After several more minutes, he stopped.

"Alright, almost there."

"Don't you need to use the power to link the two, not send the power to the hand?" Nat noted. "That would make it explode, right?"

Jack stared at her, "You're right, how did you know that?"

Natasha shrugged, "I looked at the computer,"

Jack typed a few more lines of code into a computer, and stood up.

"Okay, get ready and when I say now, activate the sonic." Jack said. He bent over the main computer.

"Sir, this could possibly drain all the power from the building," The British voice of Jarvis announced.

"Your call, Romanoff," Jack looked up.

"Do it."

" _Now!"_

* * *

Okay, so I might not update quite as often because I just started school. But then I'll be back to normal! Don't forget to review! :)


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, so these next to chapters are kinda short, so I'm posting two of them. (A lot of Tenth Doctor in this chapter BTW :)

* * *

The Doctor stepped inside the TARDIS, out of the rain. The patter of the drops hitting the roof echoed like thunder inside the blue phone booth that, for as long as the Doctor could remember, had been his home. He took off his soaking jacket and laid it on the console, smoothing out the creases. He knew he could never wear this exact jacket ever again. There was too much guilt on it. Was that a raindrop? Or one of Donna's tears? He leaned on his beloved console for a moment and let out the breath that he had been holding all night. He only had to flip a few switches. The TARDIS knew when to go, just like she always did.

He sat down on the floor leaning against the console, his wet hair plastered to his face.

"The journey is ending isn't it?" The Doctor murmured. The TARDIS changed tone to a lighter, kinder sound.

"It's always like this," He chuckled a little. "Something terrible happens, and I get reckless. I bang around too much, and I get noticed. I get in trouble, and I die."

The TARDIS sounded sad as she hurtled through time and space.

"Good times, though." The Doctor said wistfully, "Donna, she was exceptional. Fiery, clever, yet also very, very kind. Kinder than I could have been. Ever."

The TARDIS groaned softly, the metal creaking.

"And Martha, oh, she was brilliant. She saw more than anyone gave her credit for. More than she even realized. Still got her cell. I think that these days I'll be hoping she calls. Brings me back to Earth. She always… helped me. In ways I didn't realize."

The TARDIS sounded even sadder now, seemingly knowing what was coming next.

"And… Rose. Rose." The Doctor said her name, tasting it on his lips. He knew he would never see her again. He wouldn't have to. He had left her with another him. That was word. Left. He had seen her again, and just as suddenly, he had lost her. He had laid eyes on her first when he was fresh out of the Time War. Raw, exposed, reckless, angry, looking for someone to blame. The first face he saw, and somehow he knew that he would see her face in his mind as the last. She would be happy now, but not with him.

"Rose was… She was… just…"

The TARDIS made soft noises now, soothing him.

"Rose… Rose… Rose…" He muttered mournfully. A single tear rolled down his cheek.

"Rose?" A familiar voice said in shock. "Doctor? Are you there?"

The Doctor quickly wiped the tear and stood up. He straightened the screen above the console and tapped it. The screen showed only static. The Doctor flipped a few switches and waited a moment. Jack appeared on the screen.

"Hello? Doctor? Oh. Hello." Jack voice got softer when he saw the Doctor's appearance.

"Jack. Hello." Hadn't he just seen Jack? The Doctor noticed a red headed woman standing behind Jack with her arms crossed and holding-was that his sonic screwdriver?

"Who's that behind you?" The Doctor asked.

"I'll explain everything when you get here," Jack said. "I'm sending coordinates,

Torchwood has some equipment we want you to take a look at."

The coordinates came through and the Doctor entered them in the TARDIS.

"I'm on my way, Captain." The Doctor said.

The TARDIS made it's familiar noises as it now had a destination. Jack disappeared from the screen. The Doctor walked over to Rose's jacket, still hanging on the railing. He hadn't moved it since Donna had noticed it. While the TARDIS traveled, he brought the jacket to the wardrobe and put it in a box. He slid it under his many jackets. It was time to forget. He chose a blue suit and went back to the control room. He didn't bother to dry his hair. There was a slight bump as the TARDIS landed.

The Doctor opened the door hesitantly. Standing before him in a semicircle were Jack, Martha, Mickey and three others. A red headed woman who looked familiar, a man dressed with the colors of the American flag with a shield, and a man with a metal arm.

"What?" The Doctor exclaimed.

"We can explain," Jack told him.

"What?!"


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and looked at them all.

Jack rushed forward, "Doctor, I can explain."

"Wait a second, Jack." Martha intervened, "Doctor when are you?"

The Doctor looked solemn. "Guess."

"You're wet. It was raining that night, wasn't it?" Martha said.

The Doctor nodded.

"And the same tie. Oh God, Doctor. It's that night for you isn't it?"

"What night?" Jack asked.

"The Doctor's metacrisis. With… what was her name? Donna?" Martha said. "And with Rose. The other Doctor."

"Oh." Jack said sadly, "That night."

The three Avengers looked on in confusion.

Martha rushed forward and hugged the Doctor.

"It hurts," He murmured softly, so that only she could hear.

"I know." She whispered, "It's okay."

The stood there for a moment, Martha had never seen the Doctor so sad.

The Doctor took a deep breath. "I'm alright now, Martha, thank you."

She pulled away. He smiled at her, he needed to let her know that she had helped.

"So, I need you to explain all of this before I look at your equipment." The Doctor announced.

"Torchwood didn't have enough equipment and power to get the job done, and the head of UNIT didn't approve of this whole thing. Also, our lab isn't at the top of a skyscraper, which is better for transmitting signals. So, we brainstormed a bit, and the Avengers came up." Jack explained.

The Doctor nodded. "What about my sonic screwdriver? Where did you get that? I haven't lost that one yet."

"We found it in Leadworth, England. It was broken, and you had given up on it, but with a lot of work, we managed to get it functioning again." Jack told him.

"Well, I suppose I'm yet to lose it." The Doctor frowned, "May I see it?"

Jack handed it to him.

"It _does_ feel good to explain things to _him_ for once, isn't it?" Martha said contentedly.

Jack grinned and nodded. Mickey smirked.

"Hmmmm, I'm finding a history of harsh radiation. I could look for more but…" The Doctor handed it back to Jack sadly, "Best not."

Jack nodded.

Steve Rogers spoke up, "So, are we done here?"

Natasha swatted his arm, "Steve!"

"Well, I need to see my hand first, then-"

"The two of us need to talk." Nat finished.

The Doctor smiled, "Exactly."

* * *

Please like and review!


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...I've had a lot of schoolwork so I haven't had a lot of time to write. Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy! A little Eleven foreshadowing in the first part! ;)

* * *

The Doctor walked over to the tank, followed by Nat, while Bucky invited the others for a drink in the next room, an act that surprised his fellow avengers. The Doctor took a fistful of half of the wires and tubes attached and pulled them out forcefully. The attachments made a wrenching sound of protest. Nat watched him. He pulled out the other wires and then picked up the hand. He inspected it and nodded. Then he looked at Natasha and cocked his head.

"Well, hello." He said.

"You came to my ballet school years ago and set off the alarms. Why? How did you know that I wouldn't-" Natasha was cut off.

"Straight to the point, eh?" Natasha fell silent. "Natasha, we have a few things we need to talk about."

The Doctor and Natasha sat side by side on the couch.

"Natasha Romanoff." The Doctor said pensively, "Or, as the world knows you, Black Widow." He said the words, emphasizing every syllable in that strange way he did.

Natasha was silent. She let him talk.

"You are a trained, sterile, deadly, clever, and, frankly, quite seductive, assassin. And I mean that in the best way possible. You live up to your name, something that I often fail to do. You are beautiful, tantalizing, and small, yet you are deadly. Even though I'm not the greatest fan of weapons, I know a soldier when I see one."

There was a moment of silence.

"Doctor Who?"

"Sorry?" The Doctor said, a little surprised.

"You call yourself the Doctor. But Doctor Who?" Natasha asked.

Then, all in a split second, the Doctor heard a rushing sound in his ears. The rushing of the time vortex, of the TARDIS. Beneath the roar, he heard a voice, a strangely familiar voice, a voice that didn't exist yet, a voice that the Doctor would inevitably hear, over and over. The voice whispered, _The question that must never be answered._ Another voice answered, this time the one he had heard in a library. _You've decided that the universe is better off without you. But the universe disagrees!_ The first voice murmured, _Hidden in plain sight._ Many voices now, piled on top of each other, some sounding like the infamous voices of Daleks, getting louder and louder and more persistent, every single one of them simply asking, _Doctor Who?_

The sounds stopped. "Just the Doctor. Nothing else." The Doctor flashed a grin.

"Okay," Natasha's eyes narrowed slightly, "Go on."

"Well, I think that you have some questions. Particularly, why I was at your ballet school, if you want to call it that."

"Of course. Why you set off the alarms is another question." Natasha said.

"Probably got a few more." The Doctor prompted.

"Why didn't you run? How did you know that I wouldn't hurt you? How did you know I wouldn't do anything?" Natasha rattled off the questions.

The Doctor leaned back on the couch and let out a breath, "Natasha, out of all the Avengers, your path was the most difficult. I decided to follow it."

"Why?" Natasha said, her tone slightly colder.

"You don't like being followed, do you? I sincerely apologize." The Doctor said, and he looked it, "I did it partly out of curiosity, but I also wanted you to get to the Avengers safely. I wasn't sure you would make it if you didn't have outside help. I was wrong. I did one tiny thing that would not have hindered you. After your surgery, I knew that a removal like that wouldn't do good things to your head. If you still had intense training after that, the mental and physical pain would do horrors to your emotional state. The alarms put off the time when you would next have training."

"You haven't answered all of my questions," Natasha said.

"I knew your future, and I knew that the alarms would distract you. I knew you wouldn't hurt me. I'm too quick." He grinned.

"I wouldn't bet too much on that," Natasha said wryly.

The Doctor smiled thinly.

"Well, if we're done here," The Doctor got up. "I better look at the equipment."

Natasha looked like she wanted to object, they were _definitely_ not done here, but the Doctor walked away, and Natasha knew enough to not follow him.

* * *

The Doctor examined the instruments quickly enough, and stroked them gently through his fingers. Their delicacy, the fragility, the thin wires and fibers intertwining made the Doctor understand why they had thought it could be Gallifreyan. The pulsing centers of light resembled the inside of a TARDIS, with many delicate circles surrounding each one. All of it was connected with wires that wove elegantly through each other. It was a masterpiece to look at. And with the glowing Gallifreyan writing on the sides, it all looked very Time Lord. But the second the Doctor touched them, he knew they weren't Time Lord.

He handed them back to Jack, hiding his disappointment as best he could, "They're Ood. It's what's inside their translators. This was in a Time Lord museum. That's what the writing is. Just light. Like a projection frozen in time." The Doctor noticed his hands were trembling, he shoved them in his pockets and kept his eyes looking down. He was devastated. Of course it couldn't have been Time Lord. Of the few remaining fragments of Time Lord technology, what were the chances that some of them had fallen to Earth?

"Okay," Jack said, "Thanks anyway, if we ever come across an Ood, we'll know what to do."

The Doctor smiled and nodded. "Right."

The four of them stood there in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before the Doctor spoke up.

"I suppose I better get going, then,"

He walked over to the TARDIS, his head hanging low. The door opened with its familiar creak, and the Doctor stopped in the doorway. He turned his head so that the others could see his face.

"Allons-y," He said with a grin, he snapped his fingers dramatically, and the door closed behind him.


End file.
